What Queen Esther Knew

Some may be skeptical as to whether the Bible can--or should be--mined for lessons on attaining business success. But Glaser and Smalley have no doubt:""Esther emerges as an ideal role model for women today."" The book draws on the Old Testament account of Esther, in which the poor but beautiful Jewish orphan girl strikes the King of Persia's fancy and is taken to be his queen. One day Esther learns from Mordecai, her cousin and""mentor,"" that the King's wicked advisor, Haman, plans a genocide against the Jews. Mordecai calls upon Esther to use her influence with the King to save her people. Esther, calling upon her business savvy and feminine wiles, gets the King to grant her any wish. She wishes to have Haman hung. Haman is executed and Esther emerges a""true Queen and leader."" What does all this have to do with becoming a female CEO of a Fortune 500 company? Plenty, according to Glaser and Smalley. Esther's story is chockfull of pearls of business wisdom, such as""always doing your homework,""""using body language that says 'I mean business!'"" and""focusing on the forest, not the trees."" In short, Esther's story is a compendium of tired business cliches held together with a thin veneer of biblical myth. By dwelling on snappy buzzwords and little anecdotes, the authors (who also wrote Swim with the Dolphins) don't emphasize the kind of substantive achievements that are most often required for success: an advanced degree from a respected institution, say, or long experience and a track record in a competitive field. Women can and do succeed in business. However, biographies of highly successful women, such as Katherine Graham or Madeleine Albright, would likely present more sobering and realistic models for success than the ancient story of Esther.